Spiritual Stories

Spiritual Stories

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It doesn’t interest mewhat you do for a living.I want to knowwhat you ache forand if you dare to dreamof meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest mehow old you are.I want to knowif you will risklooking like a foolfor lovefor your dreamfor the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest mewhat planets aresquaring your moon...I want to knowif you have touchedthe centre of your own sorrowif you have been openedby life’s betrayalsor have become shrivelled and closedfrom fear of further pain.

I want to knowif you can sit with painmine or your ownwithout moving to hide itor fade itor fix it.

I want to knowif you can be with joymine or your ownif you can dance with wildnessand let the ecstasy fill youto the tips of your fingers and toeswithout cautioning usto be carefulto be realisticto remember the limitationsof being human.

It doesn’t interest meif the story you are telling meis true.I want to know if you candisappoint anotherto be true to yourself.If you can bearthe accusation of betrayaland not betray your own soul.If you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beautyeven when it is not prettyevery day.And if you can source your own lifefrom its presence.

I want to knowif you can live with failureyours and mineand still stand at the edge of the lakeand shout to the silver of the full moon,“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest meto know where you liveor how much money you have.I want to know if you can get upafter the night of grief and despairweary and bruised to the boneand do what needs to be doneto feed the children.

It doesn’t interest mewho you knowor how you came to be here.I want to know if you will standin the centre of the firewith meand not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest mewhere or what or with whomyou have studied.I want to knowwhat sustains youfrom the insidewhen all else falls away.

I want to knowif you can be alonewith yourselfand if you truly likethe company you keepin the empty moments.

By Oriah from her book, THE INVITATION (c)1999. Published by HarperONE,San Francisco. All rights reserved. Presented with permission of the author.

Dr. Serena Jones rolled over and glanced at the clock beside her. 8.15 am, precisely 2 hours to the monthly New World Ruling Committee meeting. Grabbing the piece of paper next to the bed she sighed as she started to reread the NWRC Agenda for 1st January 4013. Item one was to discuss the outlawing of all emotions.

Ever since scientists had found a way to neutralise all brain activity relating to emotional functioning there had been great worldwide debate. There were those who thought it would be an empty and meaningless existence without true emotion. The opposition believed that taking this ability away would save time spent analysing feelings therefore increasing productivity. Additionally, ways to preserve and safeguard both the planet and the human race, could be decided upon based on fact without sentimentality clouding logic. War would surely end with no hate to spawn violence.

Serena firmly believed that to be human was to feel. The Chairman was devoutly opposed and the other members probably had a great deal of splinters the amount of time they spent sitting on the fence.

By 10.10 Serena was sat around the large circular table at the NWRC headquarters. Cameras were strategically placed around the room. The debate would be broadcast onto large screens placed in public areas in various cities around the world. Televisions’ had long since been outlawed for individual dwellings, alongside all other forms of media. The earth’s population was only privy to whatever information the NWRC wanted to release. In addition to only being allowed to watch what was considered non-controversial viewing material, the people themselves were observed at all times.

The Chairman had made sure each household was aware of today’s debate, confident that each one would have suffered in some way (as he had) and would want to see emotions banished for future generations. There was no formal voting system in place. Giving the people a say had proved disastrous in the past but it would help his waning popularity somewhat if he was deemed to listen to the majority. He was certain they would all back him. Emotional outbursts had no place in his envisaged future world. As far as he was concerned feelings were outdated, didn’t serve any purpose and it was time for a change.

“Right” said The Chairman. “Emotion is a subjective, conscious experience and in my opinion a complete waste of time. What are your thoughts please?”

And so began the debate which raged for days and days. No one had quite seen anything like it. It surpassed the record for the longest ever meeting which was when chocolate was outlawed. The Chairman patted his now trim waist, what a blessing that was.

Words were bandied about with alarming speed. It was like a game of vocabulary volleyball. Anxiety, depression, faith, love, desire, hate, passion, lust, anger, joy. The Chairman had, in his lifetime, experienced them all, but now his heart was hard and his tolerance low.

“I’ve heard enough”, he suddenly boomed. “It’s all very commendable but ultimately the decision is mine and I choose ….”

“Excuse me Sir”, a nervous guard entered the room “there’s singing”.

“What do you mean singing” asked the Chairman outraged? “Singing is highly illegal. Arrest them at once”.

The guard’s eyes darted anxiously around the room. “We can’t Sir, there’s too many of them”.

“What do you mean?” demanded the Chairman.

The guard shuffled over to the screens on the walls and one by one switched them on. A hush fell over the room as they watched in awe. Crowds of people were gathered in the cities squares around the world. Some with candles or lighters and others were playing illicit instruments. There were millions of men, women and children of different races but they were all singing the same prohibited song; ‘All you need is Love’.

As he watched the Chairman felt the barriers he had erected to protect his heart fall away as he began to recall the long buried feeling of hope. Something wet and alien slid down his face. It was a tear.

He observed the power of a collective consciousness and years of hurt, bitterness and disappointment were stripped away leaving only one thing; an open heart. He recognised that all the problems in the world couldn’t be solved by love but realised they could be made better, bearable if everyone was united. He had wanted to remove emotions not for protection but because of fear, his fear of being unhappy but he now understood you couldn’t experience true happiness without sometimes feeling the polar opposite.

He cleared his throat. “As I was saying before we were interrupted”, he continued “the decision is mine and I choose…..” he stumbled over his words but swallowing the lump in his throat he continued, “I choose to love”. Ignoring the ensuing gasp that echoed around the room he screwed up the agenda, threw it neatly into the bin and headed for the door. “Oh and Serena”, he called over his shoulder “you best start up production in the chocolate factories again”.

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole at the end.

Eventually, the butterfly stopped making progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. The man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly...

The disillusioned young man trudged wearily down the path, shoulders slumped and head down as he fought against the weather. He reached a crossroads. Using the last of his rapidly depleting energy he forced himself to look up to read the signpost. One arrow pointed towards hope, another to peace, the way from which he had come was pointing to love, the last arrow showed him the way to faith.

He was trying to escape his past, escape himself, where should he go? As he contemplated the available routes he realised he didn’t quite believe the directions. Come from love? That’s wasn’t how it was back at home. His family constantly fought, he had lost his job and he didn’t feel his wife loved him anymore. Figuring it didn’t really matter much which route he chose he set off in the direction of hope.

After several miles the man reached another crossroads. Confusingly the signs read trust, honour, joy and, pointing directly to him was love. “love can’t be that way” he thought “that way should point towards hope. I haven’t passed it yet and now I have missed out on hope”.

Sighing heavily he dragged his weary body towards joy. After several more miles he came to another crossroads. He tutted crossly when he realised that love was again pointing directly to the path he was on. He appraised the other choices, compassion, dignity and enlightenment.

This was an easy choice to make. Turning up his collar to keep out the wind and the rain the man set off on the path towards enlightenment.

He reached a fourth crossroads, but this time every choice was love. Angrily he kicked the wooden post, cursing as he hurt his toe.

Hopping around he noticed an old man sitting on a rock under the tentative rays of the sun.

“What’s wrong?” asked the man.

“It’s these stupid signs” the young man said.” I wanted enlightenment but every road now appears to lead to love. I ignored all the other choices to get here, I have missed out on hope, peace, faith, trust, honour, joy, compassion and dignity. Now I am not even enlightened”.

The old man smiled. “Son the starting point to all of those things is love. You keep going in the opposite direction to love, avoiding all signs but somehow hoping you can have hope, peace, faith, trust, honour, joy, compassion and dignity. How can that be without love? You can’t run away from yourself because you don’t feel anymore. Why are you trying to get ‘there’? How will you feel differently ‘there’? What if ‘there is here and it has been all along and you just need to open your heart to truly see?”

The young man thought about his life. How bitter he had become when he lost his job. How emasculated and angry he felt all the time. How badly he had treated those that loved him. He had pushed their love away like it was worthless because he didn’t love himself. He realised the man was right. Love isn’t a direction, something you can chase. The arrows weren’t pointing to a direction they were pointing towards him. Everything he had been trying to find had been inside of himself all along.

He looked up and smiled at the rainbow stretching out above him. He thought about how beautiful his life was when he loved and respected himself, how differently others behaved towards him. With gratitude in his heart, and a knowing that it was never too late, he turned around and headed home.

My 6 year old son Finley proudly came out of his bedroom this morning brandishing his first ever attempt at poetry. I may be a bit (ok a lot) biased but I actually think it's pretty good. How could I not include it? Hope you enjoy it, love Louise.

You come to me in my dreams; I don't see you but I feel you, touching my face, whispering the things I need to hear. You make my heart race and my soul shine. I feel I could be happy. I don't deserve to be happy. You calm the inner turmoil bringing the tranquillity I have been craving but have been unable to obtain. Who are you?

I desperately search for you everywhere I go. I want my dreams to become a reality and yet apprehensive that if they do I would disappoint you the way I've always disappointed myself. Where are you?

I feel you know me and yet how can you know me and still want me? Still be here? I hover from peacefulness in your presence to panic that I cannot be who you think I am. Who do you think I am?

I want to tell you everything and nothing. I wish you could crawl inside me and feel what I feel. I long for you to just know without the need for explanations and recriminations. Do you think I am so benevolent? What if I’m not? What if I’m not who you think I am? Who am I?

Do you look at me and see something good? I really want to be the girl you see. For her to exist would be like scrubbing out the dark side of me and filling it with light, a thousand dancing angels spreading joy and love. I am tainted and you are too late to be my salvation. Redemption is not always deserved and anyway I have done little to earn it. What do you expect from me?

Last night I again felt your soft touch on my cheek bringing comfort where there was fear, calm where there was anger, making me the person I want to be. I need you. Do you need me?

I reach out for you, I want to touch you, to feel you, to be you. I love you. Do you love me?

The bright light disappears and you come into focus. I find myself staring into my own eyes. Confusion fades as realisation dawns. I understand that I have been so caught up with watching the demons behind me I didn't see the angels up ahead. I had got so scared to feel, so shut off to my own existence that I lost sight of who I really am. I had the light within me all the time I just needed, to forgive myself, to love myself. I accept I am good enough. I am enough.

I am filled with knowing, the understanding that the one whose love, acceptance and kindness I need is me. I am the one I have been waiting for. Overwhelming feelings of love wash over me and I can feel my body filling with an inner peace as my negativity and self-loathing quietly slip away.